From a Little Republican 'ACORN" Grew The Mighty Oak Oaf

via The Seattle Times

"The College Republican National Committee has raised $6.3 million this year through an aggressive and misleading fund-raising campaign that collected money from senior citizens who thought they were giving to the election efforts of President Bush and other top Republicans.

"Many of the top donors were in their 80s and 90s. The donors wrote checks — sometimes hundreds and, in at least one case, totaling more than $100,000 — to groups with official sounding-names such as "Republican Headquarters 2004," "Republican Elections Committee" and the "National Republican Campaign Fund."

"But all of those groups, according to the small print on the letters, were simply projects of the College Republicans, who collected all of the checks.

"And little of the money went to election efforts.

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"College Republicans serve as the party's outreach organization on college campuses. The group has been a starting place for many prominent conservatives, including Bush adviser Karl Rove, anti-tax activist Grover Norquist and former Christian Coalition executive director Ralph Reed.

"Once a part of the Republican National Committee, the group is now independent. It is set to help get out the vote for Tuesday's election.

"Officers of the College Republican National Committee did not respond to questions about their fund raising."